Man vanishes during round-the-world trip on yacht but leaves his dog onboard

A man sailing around the world has gone missing, leaving his family without answers.

James Nunan was last seen in Gran Canaria, having bought a kebab for dinner. Police then found his boat 100 miles away on 25 August, his little dog, Thumbelina, on board and alone. However, the 34-year-old bricklayer from Colchester was nowhere to be seen.

Now, his family have released a plea for any information regarding his whereabouts.

Nunan began his world trip five and a half months ago, with the aim of finishing his journey in Brazil. But with no trace of him, his family are left in the wake of his unexplained absence.

His half-sister, Nikita Goddard, told the BBC: "It started to become very worrying, very quickly."

According to his sister, Nunan is a ‘very happy person’ whose disappearance is not ‘normal’.

James Nunan was last seen in Gran Canaria after purchasing dinner (Family Handout)

"Everyone says he's always got a smile on his face," the 31-year-old told the publication.

On 18 August, at 18:16, Nunan filmed himself on Facebook Live with migrants at Playa del Confital beach. Four hours later, he was then seen leaving Paddy's Anchor bar in Las Palmas; allegedly told a fellow customer he planned to travel to Lanzarote.

Just half an hour later, he was seen purchasing food at Rico Doner Kebab, wearing his passport around his neck, but his backpack was reportedly stolen.

One day later, his passport was reported as ‘lost or stolen' to an Irish consulate in Gran Canaria, and on 22 August, his mother reported him missing to Essex Police.

Three days later, his boat was recovered and towed to Arguineguin port.

The family say they became concerned on the 19th, when Nunan failed to call his mother- something he usually did.

"That was absolutely not normal at all," Goddard said. "He was very good at keeping contact with my mum. Whenever he was able to, he would constantly phone.

"There's a lot of questions going around," she added. "It's just become crazy, to say the least. It's not been easy."

His beloved pet was taken to a shelter after she was recovered from the boat.

Goddard, who is on maternity leave, said there’s just ‘no time to be sad’ as the family plead for answers. She told Metro that this time ‘has been really difficult managing everything’ and that ‘the whole family has been running on adrenaline’.

His family are asking for information about his whereabouts (Family Handout)

They have been ‘trying to push emotion out of everything so we can just try and focus on finding him.’

“There’s almost no time to be sad,’ she said. "If anybody has seen him or believes they’ve seen him, no matter how insignificant, let us know.”

While the family have been dealing with such a devastating time as they await information about Nunan, Goddard praised social media users for trying to chip in where they can with the search.

“The support from social media has been really really helpful – we’ve managed to find a lot of information,” she said. “It’s reassuring to think there’s reason to believe that perhaps he didn’t just fall overboard and drown.”

One of the posts in question was written to the Gran Canaria- Tips & Info group, by Nunan's brother, Paul Dunne, asking for witnesses to come forward if they have seen Nunan.

The post in its entirety reads: "Reshare!!!!

"We really didn’t want to have to put a post like this out, as we were hoping my brother would have made contact by now — but sadly, he hasn’t.

"This is my brother, James (Jemsie) Nunan (Jems Nunan). He has been solo sailing around Europe with his dog, Thumbelina.

"His last contact with our Mum (Maura Norton) was on 18th August, and the last record of his bank card being used was later that night at 10:39pm, at 'Las Palmas at Rico Keba' (as named on the bank statement).

Thumbelina was found safe on board (Facebook)

"His boat has since been located by police just off the coast of Gran Canaria, Arguineguín. Documents inside confirmed it is his boat, but neither him or Thumbelina are on board.

"We can't be certain, but we believe the map attached highlights where his boat is anchored and where we believe the Rico Kebab shop to be, but this is our speculation and not confirmed to be 100% true.

"It has now been over a week with complete silence, which is very out of character for him, and we are becoming increasingly worried."

Pleading for information, he continued: "I know it's highly unlikely my friends and family will have seen him, as we know he is (or was) in Gran Canaria. But I’m hoping that if this post is shared enough, it might reach the right people and bring us some answers.

"Please, if you can, give this post a share, we'd be extremely grateful. And most importantly, if anyone has any information, photos, videos, or sightings of Jemsie or Thumbelina, please get in touch.

"Thank you so much for your help."

Tyla has reached out to Essex police and Spanish authorities for comment.